Good morning,

Yes, committee chairmen in the Texas House—appointed by Republican Speaker Dade Phelan—have endorsed Kamala Harris for president.

This is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, July 24, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

UPFRONT: The name of the Democrat incumbent vanquished by Shiela Jackson Lee in 1994 was Craig Washington. I apologize for the error!

Half-Million Illegal Aliens Apprehended Since Start of Operation Lone Star

• According to the governor's office, the state's border offensive has led to the apprehension of more than 516,300 illegal aliens, some 45,300 criminal arrests, and at least 39,400 felony charges. Debra McClure reports Operation Lone Star has also resulted in the confiscation of 505 million lethal doses of fentanyl. That's enough to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States and Mexico.
      
• Meanwhile, since beginning a busing program in 2022, Texas has transported more than 119,400 illegal aliens to cities across the country, including Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.
      
• "Texas will use every strategy and tool available to secure the border." – Gov. Greg Abbott

RELATED NEWS

Phelan’s Leadership Team Backing Kamala Harris for President

• Several Democrat members of Speaker Dade Phelan’s leadership team have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for President. Brandon Waltens has the details.
      
• In a statement from the Texas House Democrat Caucus this week, 57 of the chamber's 64 Democrats announced their endorsement of Harris for the Democrats' presidential nomination. Significantly, that list includes Phelan-appointed committee chairs like Victoria Neave Criado of Dallas, Joe Moody of El Paso, and Harold Dutton of Houston.
      
• While more than 80 percent of Republican voters, and now a majority of the House GOP caucus, want to end the practice of appointing Democrats to chair key legislative committees, incumbent Speaker Dade Phelan has said he'll continue doing so if re-elected to his post in January.
      
• Phelan is still supported by Austin lobby groups, such as Texans for Lawsuit Reform, and Republican lawmakers like Jared Patterson of Frisco and Jeff Leach of Allen.

Chinese National Charged In Massive Fentanyl Case

• A four-count federal indictment was levied against a Chinese national on Monday—alleging that he was involved in a drug trafficking conspiracy to import and distribute one of the largest shipments of fentanyl in American history. Will Biagini has more on the story.
      
• The alleged criminal is named Minsu Fang, 48, also known as Fernando. If convicted, Fang would be forced to pay a $10 million fine and spend life in federal prison.

Abductions Spike in Dallas

• According to data from Dallas’ crime analytics dashboard, kidnappings and abductions have increased 15.2 percent citywide this year. There have been 114 incidents reported through mid-July this year, compared to 99 during the same period in 2023. 

Former Houston Mayor Explores Congressional Bid

• Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced that he is considering a run to replace the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee on the upcoming general election ballot. Charles Blain has the story.

    
• Jackson Lee died last week after a battle with pancreatic cancer, leaving both a vacancy in the current term and a need for the local Democrat Party to select a replacement for her on the ballot.
   
• Turner left office in January after serving the maximum eight years as Houston’s mayor. He previously served in the Texas House.

Austin Residents Face 13 Charter Amendments

• When Austin residents go to the polls in November, they will have 13 charter amendments to consider. Adam Cahn reports that these would take effect in 2025 if approved by voters.
   
• Among the proposed changes is putting an end to the required weekly meetings of the council and increasing the signature threshold for recalling a member.
   
• Mackenzie Kelly, the lone conservative on the Austin City Council, told Texas Scorecard that she voted against all of the charter amendments.

Quote-Unquote

"Only a rank degenerate would drive 1,500 miles across Texas without eating a chicken fried steak."

– Larry McMurtry​

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